

Hitchcock's ‘Vertigo’: The Unrelenting Male Gaze that Blurs t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/)
Hitchcock’s
‘Vertigo’: The Unrelenting Male Gaze that
Blurs the Lines
Between
Possession and Obsession
i
By Koraljka Suton
It is no secret that the late Alfred
Hitchcock was—and still is—not only
one of the most revered filmmakers
in the history of cinema,
but
also the “Master of Suspense.”
After having started his career
as a silent film title designer
and art director, the
London-born
auteur had his
directorial debut with the
1925 (silent) movie The
Pleasure
Garden(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hoMKZOoNcw) and
subsequently
went on to make a number
of films that would,
after a mere few shots,
become instantly
recognizable as his.
Dramatic
shadows,
unpredictable visual
revelations and odd
camera angles were
all part of his
repertoire, with the
narrative of
wrongfully
accused
people becoming
a pervasive one
throughout his
career. He often
told the
story of
how his father
would treat him
after he
would
misbehave
during his
childhood—the
boy would be
sent down to
a police
station with
a note
intended for
the
sergeant,
asking
him
to lock
the
child up
for the
purpose
of
“teaching
him a
lesson.”
As a
result,
an adult
Hitchcock
once
said
that he
wanted
the
words
“You
see
what
can
happen
if
you
are
not
a
good
boy”
engraved
on
his
tombstone.
It
also
made
the
subject
matter
of
blameless
people
on
the
run
into
one
of his
favorite
thematic
elements.
During
his
career
that
spanned
six
decades
and
included
over
fifty
feature
films,
this
wildly
studied
filmmaker
earned
forty-six
Academy
Award
nominations
and
won
a
total
of
six
times.
By
the
year
1960,
he
had
made
four
movies
that
are
still
regarded
among
the
best
of
all
time.
One
of
them
is,
of
course,
the
1959
noir Vertigo (with
the
other
three
being Rear
Window(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/rear-window-hitchcocks-cinematic-exploration-voyeurism-disguised-top-notch-thriller/)
1
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(1954), North
by
Northwest(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/north-by-northwest-quite-possibly-the-most-entertaining-hitchcock-ever/) (1959)
and
Psycho(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/psycho-proto-slasher-brought-revolution-cinema/) (1960)).
But
the
now-adored
film
was
not
always
considered
one
of
Hitchcock’s
masterpieces,
quite
the contrary.
Upon Vertigo’s
release,
critics
were
nowhere
near
impressed
with
the
screenplay,
finding
the
story
unconvincing
and
farfetched,
and
audiences
were
not
on
board
with
either
the
mystery
being
resolved
two-thirds
into
the
movie
or
with
watching
Jimmy
Stewart
in
a
role
very
much
unlike
those
they
were
used
to
seeing
him
in,
such
as
that
of
J.B.
“Jeff”
Jefferies
in Rear
Window and
Dr.
Ben
McKenna
in The
Man
Who
Knew
Too
Much(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/the-man-who-knew-too-much-the-thriller-masters-only-remake/) (1956)—in
both
cases,
viewers
were
quick
to
side
with
the
main
characters,
which
is
not
something
that
could
be
said
for
Stewart’s
John
“Scottie”
Ferguson
in Vertigo,
who
made
them
feel
all
sorts
of
ambiguous
ways.
On
top
of
that,
the
creation
of
suspense
that
Hitchcock’s
films
became
so
known
for
was
not
the
primary
driving
force
of Vertigo,
leaving
audiences
baffled
and
confused.
But
with
the
passing
of
time,
the
director’s
misunderstood
gem
finally
got
the
recognition
it
had
deserved
all
along—in
1982, Vertigo entered
the
list
of
the
ten
greatest
movies
of
all
time
published
in
the
British
Film
Institute’s
magazine
called Sight
&
Sound,
and
came
in
seventh
place.
By
2002,
it
ranked
up,
coming
in
a
close
second,
and
in
the
2012
edition,
it
was
voted
into
first
place,
dethroning
the
movie
that
had
occupied
that
position
since
1962—Orson
Welles’ Citizen
Kane(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/citizen-kane-the-astonishing-debut-of-hollywoods-greatest-
wunderkind/).
In
1989,
it
was
deemed
“culturally,
historically
and
aesthetically
significant”
by
the
United
States
Library
of
Congress
and
selected
for
preservation
in
the
National
Film
Registry.
Hitchcock
wanted
to
buy
the
rights
to
a
novel
called Celle
qui
n’etait
plus (translated
into
English
as She
Who
Was
No
More)
by
writers
Pierre
Boileau
and
Thomas
Narcejac,
but
unfortunately
for
him,
director
Henri-Georges
Clouzot
had
beaten
him
to
it
and
had
directed
the
1955
movie
entitled Les
Diaboliques based
on
said
source
material.
The
filmmaker
was,
therefore,
very
vigilant
when
it
came
to
any
new
material
written
by
the
two—so
when
the
follow-up D’entres
les
morts hit
the
bookstores
in
1954,
the
director
had
Paramount
commission
a
synopsis
before
the
novel
even
got
a
chance
to
get
translated
into
English.
When
the
studio
secured
the
rights,
playwright
Maxwell
Anderson
(Anne
of
the
Thousand
Days, The
Bad
Seed)
got
the
job
of
adapting
the
novel
into
a
film.
Anderson
wrote
a
script
entitled Darkling,
I
Listen—a
quote
from
English
poet
John
Keats’
poem Ode
to
a
Nightingale—and
Hitchcock
did
not
like
it
one
bit,
so
he
discarded
the
draft
and
brought
in
Alec
Coppel
(The
Captain’s
Paradise, Mr.
Denning
Drives
North)
instead.
Unfortunately,
his
second
pick
did
not
satisfy
him
either,
leading
to
Samuel
L.
Taylor
(Avantil, Sabrina)
being
hired
to
write
the
screenplay
from
scratch,
with
the
help
of
Hitchcock’s
notes.
Taylor
wanted
to
take
sole
credit
for
his
work,
but
Coppel
would
not
have
it,
and
objected
to
the
Screen
Writers
Guild,
after
which
both
were
credited
and
Anderson
was
left
out.
Kim
Novak
was
cast
alongside
Jimmy
Stewart,
although
the
part
of
the
female
lead
was
initially
intended
for
Vera
Miles,
who
would
later
on
play
her
most
memorable
role
in Psycho.
Miles
became
pregnant
so
the
director
chose
Novak
instead.
By
the
time
the
actress
was
ready
to
start
shooting
after
having
taken
care
of
her
other
commitments, Miles
became
available
again,
only
to
find
out
that
Hitchcock
had
decided
to
stick
with
his
new
leading
lady.
2
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4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
Vertigo follows
John
“Scottie”
Ferguson,
a
police
officer
who
discovers
he
has
a
fear
of
heights
that
manifests
itself
as
vertigo,
forced
to
retire
after
his
condition
results
in
an
unfortunate
event
taking
place.
He
spends
his
time
with
his
friend
and
ex-fiancée
Marjorie
“Midge”
Wood
(Barbara
Bel
Geddes),
a
smart
and
independent
woman
who
obviously
still
has
feelings
for
him.
But
Scottie’s
daily
routine
suddenly
gets
a
bit
more
exciting
when
his
old
college
friend
Gavin
Elster
(Tom
Helmore)
contacts
him
and
asks
for
a
very
peculiar
favor.
Elster
wants
his
wife
Madeleine
(Kim
Novak)
followed,
but
not
because
he
suspects her
of
infidelity—but
rather
because
he
is
afraid
for
her
mental
health.
Madeleine
is
presumably
acting
out
the
final
days
of
her
late
great-grandmother’s
miserable
life
and
Scottie
becomes
more
than
intrigued
by
the
mysterious
blond
young
woman
who
does
not
seem
to
know
where
she
is
going
or
what
she
is
doing.
Our
protagonist
soon
finds
himself
enamored
and
unable
to
stay
away,
on
the
one
hand
desperately
trying
to
get
to
the
bottom
of
the mystery
that
is
Madeleine
and
on
the other
reveling
in
it,
for
it
is
precisely
the
unknown
about
this
woman
that
fuels
his
attraction
turned
obsession.
A
shocking
plot
twist
and
resolution
to
the
mystery that
happens
before
the
final
third
of
the
movie—the
perceived
premature
reveal
that
left
contemporary
audiences
dissatisfied—sets
Scottie
on
a
downward
spiral
that
ends
in
his
obsession
taking
control
over
both
his
actions
and
his
life.
For
it
is
here
that
we
clearly
see
the
sad
truth of
a
man
in
love
with
an
untouchable
fantasy,
a
phantasm
in
his
head
that
no
woman
could
ever
live
up
to—not
even
the
one
he claims
to
be
in
love
with.
For
the
character
of
Madeleine
is
the
epitome
of
the
unknown
woman,
so
mysterious,
evasive
and
alluring
that
a
person
could
project
all
of
their
deepest
desires
onto
her,
forever
worshipping
and
feeling
a
miraculous
pull
towards
the
constructed
image
in
their
mind’s eye,
provided
real
facts
about
her
remain
obscured
and
she
herself
stay
just
slightly
out
of
reach.
Scottie’s
inability
to
fully
understand
Madeleine
drives
him
mad
with
desire
and
gives
rise
to
an
urge
within
him—the
urge
to
try.
And
when
he
does,
it
is
to
no
avail,
for
his
every
attempt
provides
him
with
yet
another
intricate
puzzle
piece,
the
result
being
the
opposite
of
driving
him
away.
The
more
the
truth
evades
him,
the
more
obsessed
he
gets
with
getting
to
the
bottom
of
Madeleine,
but
this
is,
in
fact,
a
puzzle
he
subconsciously
never
wants
solved,
for
that
would
imply
his
attraction
ceasing
to
exist,
and
with
it,
his
vertigo,
which
could
be
viewed
as
a
metaphor
for
the
loss
of
control
and
sense
of
disorientation
experienced
when
falling
hopelessly
in
love.
And
that
is
something
Scottie
cannot
afford
to
do.
On
one
level, Vertigo is
a
clever
story
about
the
factuality
of
the
unrelenting
male
gaze
that
dominates
and
dictates
both
our
shared
collective
reality
and
the
majority
of
the
narratives
we
as
a
species
create
and
willingly
consume,
but
it
should
also
be
viewed
as
a
clever
deconstruction
of
it.
In
depicting
a
man
who,
at
a
certain
point
in
the film,
controls
what
a
woman
should
look
like,
how
she
should
talk,
walk
and
behave
in
order
to
adhere
to
his
fantasy
and
cater
to
his
gaze,
Hitchcock
unsubtly
reveals
his
own
obsession
with
controlling
his
actresses
and
his
attempt
at
turning
them
into
the perfect
“Hitchcock
blond.”
As
Kim
Novak
stated
in
a
1996
interview
with
Roger
Ebert:
“Of
course,
in
a
way,
that
was
how
Hollywood
treated
its
women
in
those
days.
I
could
really
identify
with
(…)
being
pushed
and
pulled
this
way
and
that,
being
told
what
dresses
to
wear,
how
to
walk,
how
to
behave.
I
think
there
was
a
little
edge
in
my
performance
that
I
was
trying
to
suggest
that
I
would
not
allow
myself
to
be
pushed
beyond
a
certain
point—that
I
was
there,
I
was
me,
I
insisted
on
myself.”
In other
words,
possessing
a
woman
becomes
an
obsession
in
and
of
itself—and
in
obsessing,
3
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37


Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
the
man
himself
acts
as
if
he
were
possessed.
But
on
another
level, Vertigo’s
male
voyeur
is
actually
the
one
who
finds
himself
on the
submissive
side
of
this
patriarchal
powerplay—for
he
is
not
the
one
who
controls
the
narrative,
she
is.
Scottie
is
rendered
powerless
by
the
idealized
and
idolized
fantasy
in
his
mind,
unaware
of
who
the
unknown
woman
really
is
and
oblivious
to
what
is
actually
taking
place.
She,
on
the
other
hand,
is
always
one
step
ahead
of
him,
counting
on
his
gaze,
attraction
and
urges
to
get
both
of
them
to
where
they
need
to
be,
if
the
plan
they
are
a
part
of
is
to
be
played
out
as
was
intended.
Ultimately,
the
final
decision
whether
to
stay
or
go
was
hers
alone—she willed
it
so,
knowingly
and
consciously,
potential
repercussions
be
damned.
The
big
revelation
surrounding
Madeleine’s
true
identity,
the
aforementioned
plot
twist
that
many
considered
came
much
too
early,
was
actually
perfectly
timed,
for
it
provided
us
with
a
much-needed
change
of
perspective.
At
first
glance,
it
does seem
to
have
taken
the
suspense
out
of
the
remainder
of
the
story.
But
upon
further
inspection,
it
becomes
evident
that
any
other
route
would
have
deprived
us
of
the
experience
of
stepping
into
Madeleine’s
shoes. Up
until
then,
we
were
in
the
same
position
as
Scottie,
equally
baffled
and
confused,
just
as
eager
to
solve
the
mystery at
hand
and
gaze
into
the
eyes
of
a
woman
in
an
attempt
to
uncover
her
secrets.
But
then
we
are
suddenly
gifted
with
an
epiphany
that
Scottie
is
not
privy
to,
and
our
being
in
the know
creates
another
type
of
suspense—having
explored
both
Scottie
and
Madeleine’s
internal
worlds,
we
get
to
watch
them
clash
and
collide,
painstakingly
aware
of
the
tragic
implications
that
permeate
the
core
of
their
relationship
drenched
in
illusion
which,
therefore,
neither
can,
nor
ever
will
be
based
in
truth
and
authenticity.
The
suspense is
a
deeply
emotional
one,
for
our
own
disillusionment
leads
to
us
clearly
seeing
the
depths
of
Scottie’s
delusion—and
the pain
it
causes
Madeleine.
Hitchcock
himself
ironically
summed
up Vertigo as
“boy
meets
girl,
boy
loses
girl,
boy
meets
girl
again,
boy
loses
girl
again.”
Although
the
big
reveal
was
originally
in
the
script,
Hitchcock
feared
that
the
game
was
given
away
too
early
and
decided
on
deleting
the
scene
in
question
after
the
first
test
screening.
Jimmy
Stewart
agreed
with
him,
an
associate
producer
did
not,
but
it
was
Paramount
boss
Barney
Balaban
who
ultimately
ordered
the
director
to
“put
the
picture
back
the
way
it
was.”
Furthermore,
the
Production
Code
Administration
wanted
to
see
the
real
villain
of
the
movie
punished
for
their
crime—the
required
scene
was
indeed
shot,
with
Midge
listening
to
a
radio
report
about
the
character’s
destiny,
but
the
director
managed
to
keep
the
ending
he
initially
intended.
Vertigo
is,
therefore,
his
only
film
where
the
culprit
gets
away
with
it.
4
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
Vertigo is
also
the
first
film
ever
to
feature
the
trademark
shot
that
captures
Scottie’s
acrophobia,
which
became
known
as
“the
Vertigo
effect.”
As
Hitchcock
stated
in Hitchcock
by
François
Truffaut(http://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock_and_Fran
%C3%A7ois_Truffaut_%28Aug/1962%29):
“The
viewpoint
must
be
fixed,
you
see,
while
the
perspective
is
changed
as
it
stretches
lengthwise.
I
thought
about
the
problem
for
fifteen
years.
By
the
time
we
got
to Vertigo,
we
solved
it
by
using
the
dolly
and
zoom
simultaneously.
I
asked
how
much
it
would
cost,
and
they
told
me
it
would
cost
fifty
thousand
dollars.
When
I
asked
why,
they
said,
‘Because
to
put
the
camera
at
the
top
of
the
stairs
we
have
to
have
a
big
apparatus
to
lift
it,
counterweight
it,
and
hold
it
up
in
space.’
I
said,
‘There
are
no
characters
in
this
scene;
it’s
simply
a
viewpoint.
Why
can’t
we
make
a
miniature
of
the
stairway
and
lay
it
on
its
side,
then
take
our
shot
by
pulling
away
from
it?
We
can
use
a
tracking
shot
and
a
zoom
flat
on
the
ground.’
So
that’s
the way
we
did
it,
and
it
only
cost
us
nineteen
thousand
dollars.”
Hitchcock
later
on
used
this
technique
in
his
1964
movie Marnie.
Other
filmmakers
paid
homage
to
the
director
by
using
“the
Vertigo
effect”,
such
as
Steven
Spielberg
in Jaws(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/jaws-groundbreaking-summer-blockbuster-
changed-hollywood-summer-vacations-forever/), E.T. and Indiana
Jones
and
the
Last
Crusade.
Movies
like La
Haine, The
Lord
of
the
Rings
Trilogy,
Goodfellas(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/goodfellas/) and The
Lion
King have
also
featured
this
effect.
It
truly
is
fascinating
to
watch Vertigo unfold,
for
the
first
third
of
the
film
presents
us
with
what
seems
like
a
ghost
story
about
possession
that
dabbles
in
the
subject
of
ancestral
trauma.
It
plays
with
the
notion
that
sensitive
individuals
of
future
generations
are,
in
fact,
capable
of
acting
out
unresolved
trauma
belonging
to
their
late
family
members
by
repeating
their
patterns
over
and
over
again,
implying
that
the
ancestor’s
pain
was
too
grand
to
be
tied
to
the
time
and
space
it
initially
belonged
to.
This
narrative
is
meant
to
excite
us,
thrill
us
and
unsettle
us,
as
we
follow
Scottie
who
tries
as
hard
as
he
can
to
“think”
the
problem
away,
but
gets
drawn
into
it
deeper
than
he
could
have
possibly
imagined
and
ultimately
ends
up
repeating
a
destructive
pattern
of
his
own.
No
(supernatural)
possession
needed,
only
obsession.
And
yet it
is
his
obsession
that
ultimately
makes
him
act
as
if
he
were
possessed.
Scottie’s
medical
condition,
although
factual
in
and
of
itself,
envelops
the
movie
as
both
an
atmosphere
and
a
feeling
state,
one
that
we
as
viewers
go
through
alongside
the
protagonist,
constantly
grasping
at
straws,
incapable
of
being
at
ease,
feeling
as
if
the
world
is
crumbling
beneath
our
very
feet.
And
as
we
look
down,
we
are
rendered
unable
to
do
anything
about
it.
Koraljka Suton is a member of the Croatian Society of Film Critics and has a master’s degree in German and English. For her thesis,
she did a comparative analysis of Spielberg’s ‘Band of Brothers’ and ‘The Paci�c’. Koraljka trained at a Zagreb-based acting studio for
six years and fell in love with Michael Chekhov and Lee Strasberg’s acting techniques. She is also a contemporary dancer and a Reiki
master who believes in the transformative quality of art. Read more »(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/tag/koraljka-suton/)
5
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4/30/22,
14:37
Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
HITCHCOCK
BY
TRUFFAUT
In
the
fall
of
1962,
whilst The
Birds was
in
post-production,
François
Truffaut
carried
out extensive
interviews(http://the.hitchcock.zone
/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock_and_Fran%C3%A7ois_Truffaut_%28Aug/1962%29) with
Alfred
Hitchcock
at
his
offices
at
Universal
Studios.
The
interviews
were
recorded
to
audio
tape
and
the
content
eventually
edited
down
into
the
‘Hitchcock/Truffaut’
book.
Buy
‘Hitchcock
by
François
Truffaut’
from Amazon(https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671604295). Hitchcock/Truffaut documentary(https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=hgAvkXH4dmI) explores
the
art
and
influence
of
Hitchcock
through
his
famed
1962
interview
with
François
Truffaut.
Available
on HBO
NOW(http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/hitchcock-truffaut) and
HBO
GO.
Vertigo is
taken
from
the
Boileau
Narcejac
novel D’Entre
les
Morts,
which
was
especially
written
so
that
you
might
do
a
screen
version
of
it.
No,
it
wasn’t.
The
novel
was
out
before
we
acquired
the
rights
to
the
property.
Just
the
same,
that
book
was
especially
written
for
you.
Do
you
really
think
so?
What
if
I
hadn’t
bought
it?
In
that
case
it
would
have
been bought
by
some
French
director,
on
account
of the
success
of Diabolique.
As
a
matter
of
fact,
Boileau
and
Narcejac
did
four
or
five
novels
on
that
theory.
When they
found
out
that you
had
been
interested
in
acquiring
the
rights
to Diabolique,
they
went
to
work
and
wrote D’Entre
les
Morts,
which
Paramount
bought
for
you.
Can
you
tell
me
what
it
was
about
this
book
that specially
appealed
to
you?
I
was
intrigued
by
the
hero’s
attempts
to
re-create
the
image
of
a
dead
woman
through
another
one
who’s alive.
As
you
know,
the
story
is
divided
into
two
parts.
The
first
part
goes
up
to
Madeleine’s
death,
when she
falls
from
the
steeple,
and
the
second
part
opens
with
the
hero’s
meeting
with
Judy,
a
brunette
who
looks
just
like
adeleine.
In
the
book
it’s
at
the beginning
of
that
second
part
that
the
hero
meets
Judy
and
tries to
get
her
to
look
like
Madeleine,
and
it’s
only
at
the
very
end
that
both
he
and
the
reader
discover
that
Madeleine
and
Judy
are
one
and
the
same
girl.
That’s
the final
surprise
twist.
In
the
screenplay
we
used
a
different
approach.
At
the
beginning
of
the
second
part,
when
Stewart
meets
the
brunette,
the truth
about
Judy’s
identity
is
disclosed,
but
only
to
the
viewer.
Though
Stewart
isn’t
aware
of
it
yet,
the
viewers
already
know
that
Judy
isn’t
just
a
girl
who
looks
like
Madeleine,
but
that
she
is
Madeleine!
Everyone
around
me
was
against
this
change;
they
all
felt
that
the
revelation
should
be
saved
for
the
end
of
the
picture.
I
put
myself
in
the
place
of
a
child
whose
mother
is
telling
him
a
story.
When
there’s
a
pause
in
her
narration,
the
child
always
says,
“What
comes
next,
Mommy?”
Well,
I
felt
that
the
second
part
of
the
novel
was
written
as
if
nothing
came
next,
whereas
in
my
formula,
the
little
boy,
knowing
that
Madeleine
and
Judy
are
the
same
person,
would
then
ask,
“And
Stewart
doesn’t
know
it,
does
he?
What
will
he
do
when
he
finds
out
about
it?
In other
words,
we’re
back
to
our
usual
alternatives:
Do
we
want
suspense
or
surprise?
We
followed
the
book
up
to
a
certain
point.
At
first
Stewart
thinks
Judy
may
be
Madeleine;
then
he
resigns
himself
to
the
fact
that
she
isn’t,
on condition
that
Judy
will
agree
to
resemble
Madeleine
in
every
respect.
But
now
we
give
the
public
the
truth
about
the
hoax
so
that our
suspense
will
hinge
around
the
question
of
how
Stewart
is
going
to
react
when
he
discovers
that
Judy
and
Madeleine
are
actually
the
same
person.
That’s
the main
line
of
thought.
But
there’s
an
additional
point
of
interest
in
the
screenplay.
You
will
remember
that
Judy
resisted
the
idea
of
being
made
to
look
like
Madeleine.
In
the
book
she was
simply
reluctant
to
change
her
appearance,
with
no
justification
for
her
attitude.
Whereas
in
the
film,
the
girl’s
reason
for
fighting
off
the
changes
is
that
she
would
eventually
be
unmasked.
So
much
for
the plot.
To
put
it
plainly,
the
man
wants
to
go
to
bed
with
a
woman
who’s
dead;
he
is
indulging
in
a
form
of
necrophilia.
Those
scenes
in
which
James
Stewart
takes
Judy
to
the
dress
shop
to
buy
a
suit
just
like
the
one
Madeleine
wore,
and
the
way
in
which
he
makes
her
tryon
shoes,
are
among
the
best.
He’s
like
a
maniac.
That’s
the
basic
situation
in
this
picture.
Cinematically,
all
of
Stewart’s
efforts
to
recreate
the
dead
woman
are
shown
in
such
a
way
that
he
seems
to
be
trying
to
undress
her,
instead
of
the
other
way
around.
What
I
liked
best
is
when
the
girl
came
back
after
having
had
her
hair
dyed
blond.
James
Stewart
is
disappointed
because
she
hasn’t
put
her
hair
up
in
a
bun. What
this
really
means
is
that
the
girl
has
almost
stripped,
but
she
still
won’t
take
her
knickers
off.
When
he insists,
she
says,
“All
right!”
and
goes
into
the
6
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31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
bathroom
while
he
waits
outside.
What
Stewart
is
really
waiting
for
is
for
the
woman
to
emerge
totally
naked
this
time,
and
ready
for
love.
That
didn’t
occur
to
me,
but
the
close-up
on Stewart’s
face
as
he’s
waiting
for
her
to
come
out
of
the
bathroom
is
wonderful;
he’s
almost
got
tears
in
his
eyes.
At
the
beginning
of
the
picture,
when
James
Stewart
follows
Madeleine
to
the
cemetery,
we
gave
her a
dreamlike,
mysterious
quality
by
shooting
through
a
fog
filter.
That
gave
us
a
green
effect,
like
fog
over
the
bright
sunshine.
Then,
later
on,
when
Stewart
first
meets
Judy,
I
decided
to
make
her
live
at
the
Empire
Hotel
in
Post
Street
because
it
has
a
green
neon
sign
flashing
continually
outside
the
window.
So
when
the
girl
emerges
from
the
bathroom,
that
green
light
gives
her
the
same
subtle,
ghostlike
quality.
After
focusing
on
Stewart,
who’s
staring
at
her,
we
go
back
to
the
girl,
but
now
we
slip
that
soft
effect
away
to
indicate
that
Stewart’s
come
back
to
reality.
Temporarily
dazed
by
the
vision
of
his
beloved
Madeleine
come
back
from
the
dead,
Stewart
comes
to
his
senses
when
he spots
the
locket.
In
a
flash
he
realizes
that
Judy’s
been
tricking
him
right
along.
The
whole
erotic
aspect
of
the
picture
is
fascinating.
I
remember
another
scene,
at
the
beginning,
when Stewart
hauled
Kim
Novak
out
of
the water.
He
takes
her
to
his
place,
where
we
find
her
asleep
in
his
bed.
As
she
gradually
comes
to,
there’s
an
implication,
though
it’s
not
specifically
stated,
that
he’s
probably
taken
the
girl’s
clothes
off
and
has
seen
her
in
the
nude.
The
rest
of
that
scene
is
superb,
as
Kim
Novak
walks
around
with
her
toes
sticking
out
of
his
bathrobe
and
then
settles
down
by
the
fire,
with
Stewart
pacing
back
and
forth
behind
her. Vertigo unfolds
at
a
deliberate
pace,
with
a
contemplative
rhythm
that
contrasts
sharply
with
your
other
pictures,
which
are
mostly
based
on
swift
motion
and
sudden
transitions.
That’s
perfectly
natural
since
we’re
telling
the
story
from
the
viewpoint
of
a
man
who’s
in
an
emotional
crisis.
Did
you
notice
the
distortion
when
Stewart
looks
down
the
tower
stairway?
Do
you
know
how
we
did
that?
Wasn’t
that
a
track-out
combined
with
a
forward
zoom?
That’s
it.
When
Joan
Fontaine
fainted
at
the
inquest
in Rebecca,
I
wanted
to
show
how
she
felt
that
everything
was
moving
far
away
from
her
before
she
toppled
over.
I
always
remember
one
night
at
the
Chelsea
Arts
Ball
at
Albert
Hall
in
London
when
I
got
terribly
drunk
and
I
had
the
sensation
that
everything
was
going
far
away
from
me.
I
tried
to
get
that
into Rebecca,
but
they
couldn’t
do
it.
The
viewpoint
must
be
fixed,
you
see,
while
the
perspective
is
changed
as
it
stretches
lengthwise.
I
thought about
the
problem
for
fifteen
years.
By
the time
we
got
to Vertigo,
we
solved
it
by
using
the
dolly
and
zoom
simultaneously.
I
asked
how
much
it
would
cost,
and
they
told
me
it
would
cost
fifty
thousand
dollars.
When
I
asked
why,
they
said,
“Because
to
put
the
camera
at
the
top
of
the
stairs
we
have
to
have
a
big
apparatus
to
lift
it,
counterweight
it,
and
hold
it
up
in
space.”
I
said,
“There
are
no
characters
in
this
scene;
it’s
simply
a
viewpoint.
Why
can’t
we
make
a
miniature
of
the
stairway
and
lay
it
on
its
side,
then
take
our
shot
by
pulling
away
from
it?
We
can
use
a
tracking
shot
and
a
zoom
flat
on
the
ground.”
So
that’s
the
way
we
did
it,
and
it
only
cost
us
nineteen
thousand
dollars.
7
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
As
much
as
that?
I
feel
that
you
really
like Vertigo.
I
suppose
so.
One
of our
whimsies
when
a
picture
isn’t
doing
too
well
is
to
blame
it
on
the
faulty
exploitation.
So
let’s
live
up
to
the
tradition
and
say
they
just
didn’t
handle
the
sales
properly!
Do
you
know
that
I
had
Vera
Miles
in
mind
for Vertigo,
and
we
had
done
the
whole
wardrobe
and
the
final
tests
with
her?
Didn’t
Paramount
want
her?
Paramount
was
perfectly
willing
to
have
her,
but
she
became
pregnant
just
before
the
part
that
was
going
to
turn
her
into
a
star.
After
that
I
lost
interest;
I
couldn’t
get
the
rhythm going
with
her
again.
I
take
it,
from
some
of
your
interviews,
that
you
weren’t
too
happy
with
Kim
Novak,
but
I
thought
she
was
perfect
for the
picture.
There
was
a
passive,
animal
quality
about
her
that
was
exactly
right
for
the
part.
Miss
Novak
arrived
on
the
set
with
all
sorts
of
preconceived
notions
that
I
couldn’t
possibly
go
along
with.
You
know,
I
don’t
like
to
argue
with
a
performer
on
the
set;
there’s
no
reason
to
bring
the
electricians
in
on
our
troubles.
I
went
to
Kim
Novak’s
dressing
room
and
told
her
about
the
dresses
and
hairdos
that
I
had
been
planning
for
several
months.
I
also
explained
that
the
story
was
of
less
importance
to
me
than
the
overall
visual
impact
on
the
screen,
once
the
picture
is
completed.
It
seems
to
me
these
unpleasant
formalities
make
you
unfair
in assessing
the
whole
picture.
I
can
assure
you
that
those
who
admire Vertigo like
Kim
Novak
in
it.
Very
few
American
actresses
are
quite
as
carnal
on
the screen.
When
you
see
Judy
walking
on
the
street,
the
tawny
hair
and
make-up
convey
an
animal-like
sensuality.
That
quality
is
accentuated,
I
suppose,
by
the
fact
that
she
wears
no
brassiere.
That’s
right,
she
doesn’t
wear
a
brassiere.
As
a
matter
of
fact,
she’s
particularly
proud
of
that!
“Samuel
Taylor
wrote
to
me
agreeing
that
Hitchcock
liked
the
town
but
only
knew
‘what
he
saw
from
hotels
or
restaurants
or
out
of
the
limo
window’.
He
was
‘what
you
might
call
a
sedentary
person’.
But
he
still
decided
to
use
the
Dolores
Mission
and,
strangely,
to
make
the
house
on
Lombard
Street
Scottie’s
home
‘because
of
the
red
door’.
Taylor
was
in
love
with
his
city
(Alex
Coppel,
the �rst
writer,
was
‘a
transplanted
Englishman’)
and
put
all
his
love
into
the
script;
and
perhaps
even
more
than
that,
if
I
am
to
believe
a
rather
cryptic
phrase
at
the
end
of
his
letter:
‘I
rewrote
the
script
at
the
same
time
that
I
explored
San
Francisco
and
recaptured
my
past…
‘Words
which
could
apply
as
much
to
the
characters
as
to
the
authors
and
which
afford
us
another
interpretation,
like
an
added �at
to
a
key,
of
the
direction
given
by
Elster
to
Scottie
at
the
start
of
the �lm,
when
he’s
describing
Madeleine’s
wanderings;
the
pillars
Scottie
gazes
at
for
so
long
on
the
other
side
of
Lloyd
Lake—the Portals
of
the
Past.
This
personal
note
would
explain
many
things:
the amour
fou,
the
dream
signs,
all
the
things
that
make Vertigo a �lm
which
is
both
typically
and
untypically
Hitchcockian
in
relation
to
the
rest
of
his
work,
the
work
of
a
perfect
cynic.
Cynical
to
the
point
of
adding
for
television—an
anxiously
moral
medium,
as
we
all
know
a
new
ending
to
the �lm:
Scottie
reunited
with
Midge
and
the
radio
reporting
Elster’s
arrest.
Crime
doesn’t
pay.”
—Chris
Marker(https://chrismarker.org/chris-marker/a-free-replay-notes-on-
vertigo/)
A
monumentally
important
screenplay.
Screenwriter
must-read:
Alec
Coppel
&
Samuel
A.
Taylor’s
screenplay
for Vertigo
8
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
[PDF(https://www.dropbox.com/s/tcvkn5ufr7faxb4/Vertigo%20-%201957-12-03%20-%20Draft.pdf?raw=1)].
(NOTE: For
educational
and
research
purposes
only).
The
DVD/Blu-ray
of
the
film
is
available
at Amazon(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J2R3VZI) and
other
online
retailers.
Absolutely
our
highest
recommendation.
Now
let’s
take
a
deeper
look
at
this
chapter
in
the career
of
the
screen’s
reigning
maestro
of
tension
and
terror,
courtesy(http://www.oscars.org/collection-highlights/all/alfred-hitchcock) of
the
Academy
of
Motion
Picture
Arts
and
Sciences.
This
research
shot
of
a
redwood
was
used
for
Kim
Novak’s
haunted
forest
monologue
in Vertigo.
9
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37


Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/11_vertigo_008_050814.jpg?x75244)
This
is
just
one
of
many
concept
drawings
by
Saul
Bass
which
formed
the
basis
for
the striking main
titles(https://www.artofthetitle.com
/title/vertigo/) of Vertigo.
(http://www.cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/03_vertigo_421_6_10.jpg?x75244)
Hitchcock
and
Kim
Novak
share
a
light
moment
on
the
set
while
filming
the
aftermath
of
her dive
into
the
water
in Vertigo.
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/14_vertigo_1083_1034425.jpg?x75244)
Art
director
Henry
Bumstead
conceptualized
this
church
tower
interior
for
the
pivotal
“suicide”
scene
in
the
middle
of Vertigo.
10
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(http://www.cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/13_vertigo_490_1_1.jpg?x75244)
Studio
heads
disliked
the
title
of Vertigo,
instead
preferring
to
call
it Face
in
the
Shadow.
Alfred
Hitchcock
begged
to
differ.
11
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/06_vertigo_faceshadow_1.jpg?x75244)
Numerous
different
titles
were
proposed
by
the
studio
for Vertigo,
though
the
final
one
always
remained
Hitchcock’s
top
choice.
12
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/10_vertigo_titles.jpg?x75244)
In
France
the
title
of
the
French
source
novel
for Vertigo, D’entre
les
morts
(From
the
Dead),
was
discarded
in
favor
of Sueurs
froides.
13
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(http://www.cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/04_vertigo_2013_1110_5.jpg?x75244)
Seen
on
location
in
San
Francisco,
Kim
Novak
delivered
not
one
but
two
haunting
characters
in Vertigo.
14
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/02_vertigo_1083_032460_0.jpg?x75244)
15
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/11-1.jpg?x75244)
16
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/9-1.jpg?x75244)
In
this
early
Maxwell
Anderson
draft
of Vertigo,
James
Stewart’s
character
was
named
Roger
Kilrain
instead
of
Scottie
Ferguson.
17
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/07_vertigo_script.jpg?x75244)
Screenwriter
Alec
Coppel
drafted
the
famous
opening
of Vertigo,
in
which
James
Stewart
discovers
his
fear
of
heights
at
the worst
possible
moment.
18
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/08_vertigo_opening.jpg?x75244)
The
various
drafts
of
the
script
for Vertigo featured
different
comic
banter
between
James
Stewart
and
Barbara
Bel
Geddes.
19
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/09_vertigo_script2.jpg?x75244)
From
cult
French
TV
show Cinema
Cinemas.
Jimmy
Stewart
discusses
his
work
with
Alfred
Hitchcock.
20
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37


Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
Open
YouTube
video(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Hcf2WToyU)
Martin
Scorsese
on Vertigo.
William
Friedkin
on
Alfred
Hitchcock
and Vertigo.
Open
YouTube
video(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-RnaJ6sIsw)
A
treasure
trove
called CineFiles(http://cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu/cinefiles/FilmDetail?filmId=pfafilm22439) contains
scanned
images
of
reviews,
press
kits,
festival
and
showcase
program
notes,
newspaper
articles,
interviews,
and
other
documents
from
the
PFA
Library’s
extensive
collection.
See
also: The
Hitchcock
Zone(http://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Vertigo_%281958%29).
STORYBOARDS
21
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37



Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/1.jpg?x75244)
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2.jpg?x75244)
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/3.jpg?x75244)
22
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37



Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/4.jpg?x75244)
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/3.png?x75244)
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/4.png?x75244)
23
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/5.jpg?x75244)
“Of
course,
I
enjoyed
designing
the
church
tower
and
steps
leading
up
to
the
bell
tower.
You
know
you
could
never
get
Hitch
to
go
and
look
at
a
set,
and
the
bell
tower
was
completed.
So
I
asked
Herbie
Coleman
[the
associate
producer]
to
bring
Hitch
over.
Herbie
asked
Hitch
to
come
over,
and
Hitch
said,
‘Isn’t
Bummy
a
professional?
So
why
do
I
have
to
go
look
at
it?’ Some
mornings
I
was
rather
nervous
because
you
would
be
waiting
for
Hitch
to
arrive
and
look
at
the
set.
All
the
driving
scenes,
for
instance,
we
did
in
the
studio
with
rear
projection.
You
know
how
most
directors
now
hate
rear
projection
and
want
to
be
in
a
real
car
hanging
on
to
the
sides!
But
Bob
Burks
was
such
a
good
cinematographer
that
he
really
knew
how
to
make
those
plates
for
the
process
shots.
I
always
work
carefully
with
a
cameraman,
the
set
dresser,
and
with
the
costume
designer,
Edith
Head.
I
did
about
thirty
films
with
her.”
—Henry
Bumstead,
Storyboard
for
the
bell
tower
scene
in
Vertigo(https://www.amazon.com/dp/0292722281)
24
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/James_Stewart_escalier_vertigo_hitchcock_sueurs_froides_1958.jpg?x75244)
Storyboard
for
the
opening
scene
of Vertigo.
Courtesy
of
Henry
Bumstead.
25
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37

Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/1.png?x75244)
26
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37


Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2-1.jpg?x75244)
Storyboard
of
the
bridge
scene
in Vertigo.
Courtesy
of
Henry
Bumstead.
(https://cinephiliabeyond.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/6.png?x75244)
A
documentary
about
the making
and
restoration(https://vimeo.com/210053801) of
Alfred
Hitchcock’s
masterpiece,
narrated
by
Roddy
McDowall.
THE
SOUND
OF
HITCHCOCK
27
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37






Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
Join
Academy
Award-winning
sound
designers
as
they
reveal
how
Alfred
Hitchcock
employed
sound
to
make
audience
members
leap
from
their
seats
in
fright
or
crawl
under
them
from
excruciating
suspense.
PURE
CINEMA:
THROUGH
THE
EYES
OF
HITCHCOCK
Director
Martin
Scorsese is
our
guide
into
the
power
and
mastery
of
Hitchcock’s
visual
style,
breaking
down
landmark
sequences
from Vertigo, The
Birds and Psycho.
IN
THE
MASTER’S
SHADOW:
HITCHCOCK’S
LEGACY
Martin
Scorsese,
Guillermo
del
Toro,
William
Friedkin
and
many
others
celebrate
the
enduring
legacy
of
the
man
many consider
the
greatest
filmmaker
the
medium
has
yet
produced.
Discover
why
Alfred
Hitchcock’s
movies
thrill
audiences
and
inspire
filmmakers,
who
continue
to
employ
his
cinematic
techniques
to
this
day.
SAUL
BASS:
TITLE
CHAMP
Directors
Martin
Scorsese,
Guillermo
del
Toro
and
others
pay
tribute
to
Saul
Bass,
who
revolutionized
the
art
of
movie
titles.
BERNARD
HERRMANN:
HITCHCOCK’S
MAESTRO
Bernard
Herrmann
was
perhaps
the
preeminent
film
composer
of
the
20th
century.
Holding
a
significant
fan
base
throughout
the
years,
he
is
one
of
the
most
talked
about
film
composers,
the
subject
of
many
discussions
and
scholarly
papers. He
worked
with
legendary
filmmakers
such
as
Orson
Welles,
Alfred
Hitchcock,
Ray
Harryhausen,
and
composed
historic
films
such
as Citizen
Kane,
Vertigo and Psycho.
His
unique
music
certainly
commanded
attention,
whether
or not
you
are
a
serious
fan
of
the
music. It
certainly
was
interesting
and
imaginative
music
that
held
substantial
dramatic
impact.
—The
Nature
of
Bernard
Herrmann’s
Music(http://www.bernardherrmann.org/articles/misc-nature/)
An
illuminating
portrait
of
one
of
Alfred
Hitchcock’s
most
important
collaborators,
film
composer
Bernard
Herrmann.
Music
For
The
Movies:
Bernard
Herrmann explores
the
work
of
a
composer
who
created
music
for
over
50
films,
collaborating
with
such
diverse
directors
as
Orson
Welles,
Nicholas
Ray,
and
Martin
Scorsese.
Best remembered
for
his
twelve-year
collaboration
with
Alfred
Hitchcock
on
such
classics
as Vertigo, North
by
Northwest,
and
the
unforgettable Psycho,
Herrmann
pioneered
many
fundamental
techniques
of
film
scoring
in
the
course
of
his
35-year
career.
DIAL
H
FOR
HITCHCOCK
Hitchcock:
Shadow
of
a
Genius aka Dial
H
for
Hitchcock (1999)
is
a
fascinating
look
at
the
cinematic
genius
of
Alfred
Hitchcock.
Briefly
covering
much
of
his
early
British
works,
the film
primarily
focuses
on
his
American
classics,
such
as Shadow
of
a
Doubt, Notorious,
Rear
Window, Vertigo, Psycho and The
Birds.
The
documentary
also
covers
his
television
years
and
neatly
examines
the
Hitchcock
signature
touches,
from
his
inevitable
brief
cameos
to
his
famous
“MacGuffin.”
There
are
interviews
with
his
delightful
daughter
Pat
as
well
as
such
film
directors
as
Brian
De
Palma,
Jonathan
Demme,
Curtis
Hanson,
Robert
Altman,
Ronald
Neame
and
Peter
Bogdanovich,
along
with
cast
and
crew
members
Tippi
Hedren,
Joseph
Stefano,
Norman
Lloyd,
Robert
F.
Boyle,
Teresa
Wright
and
Janet
Leigh.
This
documentary
has
not
been
officially
released
on
DVD.
Here
are
several
photos
taken
behind-the-scenes during
production
of
Alfred
Hitchcock’s Vertigo.
Photographed
by
Robert
Coburn
&
G.E.
Richardson
©
Paramount
Pictures.
Intended
for
editorial
use
only. All
material
for
educational
and
noncommercial
purposes
only.
28
of
31
4/30/22,
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Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
29
of
31
4/30/22,
14:37
Hitchcock's
‘Vertigo’:
The
Unrelenting
Male
Gaze
that
Blurs
t...
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/vertigo/
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Male
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31
of
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